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As the Morning Rising: When Mercy's Work is Done. : When Mercy's Work Is Done St Brigid used rushes to make a cross when giving instruction in the faith to a dying man ...

Hold onto your knickers, because you are about to be taken on one heck of a ride with Hijacked , by Leslie Lynch. Ben Martin, undercover DEA agent, finds himself between a rock and a hard place after a drug bust goes bad, leaving him with a bullet wound in his shoulder and a need to escape – quickly! He sees no other outlet than a small plane going through pre-flight checks at a small airfield. The lone pilot should be easy to overtake, thought Ben – and away we go! As Ben hijacks the plane, he learns the pilot is a woman, one Lannis Parker. As Lannis is forced to fly Ben out of harm’s way (by the barrel of Ben’s gun), the adventure begins; so too, a relationship, of sorts, between captive and captor. You see, the actual hijacking is only one-half of the story. Once the plane lands, Ben must keep Lannis captive for several days, so that she will be safe from the people after Ben. What follows is an examination of the human soul in relationship, one to another. This story is fill

As the Morning Rising: A Spark of Human Kindness : Any of us can experience Michelangelo-type moments if we stretch ourselves, if we move beyond the comfortable and reach out with all t...

I like to imagine that, were he living in our age, St. Francis de Sales would be a blogger.  After reading the following on Catholic Online, I suspect my idea may not be all that far-fetched....   "Francis' unusual patience kept him working.  No one would listen to him, no one would even open their door.  So Francis found a way to get under the door.  He wrote out his sermons, copied them by hand, and slipped them under the doors.  This is the first record we have of religious tracts being used to communicate with people."  It is primarily because of his tracts, copied tirelessly by hand and slipped under doors, that Francis de Sales has been named patron of Catholic journalists. I cannot imagine a more appropriate saint for bloggers. May he pray for all who slip faithful, God-honoring, blog posts through today's cyber-doors... from thecloisteredheart.org

"The heavens declare the glory of God; the sky proclaims its builder's craft." ( Psalms 19:2 ) Okay, so who is this message proclaimed to? Us, apparently. One of the ways we can learn about God is by noticing order and beauty in the universe. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 31 - 32 , 319 ) St. Bonaventure said that the universe communicates God's glory, St. Thomas Aquinas said that the Almighty creates because God is good and loving. (Catechism, 293 ) I think they're right. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Reflection by  Susanne Timpani 'The sun has played havoc on your Celtic skin.' Dr Raju tilted her head. I'd never considered myself a member of the Celtic clan before. For a moment I felt I had been plucked from their midst and deposited into my current, sunburnt, country. 'The cream will irritate, redden, wrinkle, blotch and burn your skin,' she muttered as her hand swept across her script pad, 'but it will halt the changes to your cells and prevent skin cancer...  Read more: https://susannetimpani.blogspot.com.au/ If I take the wings of the morning     and settle at the farthest limits of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me,     and your right hand shall hold me fast. Psalm 139: 9-10

Sermon on the Mountain, Károly Ferenczy Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Readings (Jerusalem Bible Gospel Matthew 4:12-23 [or 12-17] ( NRSV,Catholic Ed ) When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying: ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted ‘Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. ‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled ‘Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. ‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. ‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. ‘Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ‘Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on

The Fire of Australia, a whacking great chunk of opal, isn't particularly interesting from a 'science' viewpoint. But I'm human, which is probably why anything big and shiny gets my attention: including that rock. Wrenching myself back on-topic, scientists found a stream of liquid metal flowing at the edge of Earth's core. Studying it may help us learn why Earth's magnetic field flip-flops at apparently-irregular intervals. What we'll learn is beyond me: we didn't know much about geomagnetic reversal when I started school. We still don't, for that matter. As I keep saying, there is a very great deal left to learn. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

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I sat in  Mass Sunday praying for Christian unity as Catholics have done this week for at least 100 years. The irony that this week, THIS  week, we dedicate to prayer for unity struck me as I sang one of my favorite, old hymns, They Will Know We Are Christians . This weekend Donald J. Trump was inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States of America, and this weekend women marched on Washington DC and in cities all over the world in opposition to Trump. While opposing parties were ideologically far apart, too often their dominating messages were indistinguishable, filled with accusations, vulgarity, and ridicule. United in Ugliness. United in Sin. Both groups, in varying degrees, turned their backs on love and unity preferring instead to inflame and degrade. In varying degrees both engaged in six of the seven deadly sins this weekend alone as they chose to respond to what should have been the world's best example of a peaceful turnover of power with lust, gre

As the Morning Rising: Grace : Grace Cleaved by grace Your heart split open Issuing forth all the love A heart can hold at any given time And like pure gold Its...

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Due to popular demand ("popular demand" being defined here as incredible pressure from friends and family), my Catholic novel Nearer the Dawn is now available in paperback. If you prefer Kindle, it is on sale for just 99 ¢.  And, as usual, all net profits from both Kindle and paperback sales go to charity. This book arose from a question I asked myself: What would an atheist do if he witnessed a miracle? The synopsis:  What if you had everything the world could offer yet were still dissatisfied? Frank Devore has it all: international fame and a billion dollar fortune. None of it, however, can save his fatally ill daughter, Audrey. But when Audrey is astonishingly cured through the simple touch of a mysterious young woman, Frank searches for answers--and is enmeshed in a battle between an angel and a demon in which the lives of thousands are threatened. For ages 13 and up. www.amazon.com/Nearer-Dawn-J-Avila/dp/1539837904

Patience is my most difficult virtue to master. I have difficulty waiting for things and answers to prayers in God’s time. I see the need for urgent response to prayer. Yet, for some reason, the Lord sees things differently. He does not see the urgency I see. That is my first clue, that MY plan may not necessarily be His plan. So what is His plan for me? When He “delays” in revealing His plan for me, I get frustrated. I lose patience. Does this sound familiar to you? Can you relate? Patience Requires Trust When I get frustrated, I must acknowledge that the root of my impatience is a lack of trust in God’s Providence. I question God’s logistics, using my limited scope of vision. I realize that much of what I hope for seems impossible to achieve without God’s involvement. Therefore, patience requires... Read more...

Last week I attended the funeral of a little ninety-three-year-old Chinese woman, "Alice." Long ago I had been introduced to her as the mother of a friend and sized her up as a sweet, gentle lady who probably spent most of her life in the kitchen making beef chop suey, wonton soup, and egg rolls.  Only now do I know what a powerhouse she was. I should have guessed it from her accomplished adult children. Alice, a graduate of a leading university in Shanghai, was one of the first female journalists in China and interviewed prominent people. During the civil war there, she led more than twenty family members to safety. The homily at her funeral Mass and the masterful eulogy delivered by her son shed even more light on this remarkable woman, whose life touched thousands. Apparently we humans are good at instantly drawing conclusions about other people. It's said that if a stranger resembles someone we know and like, we immediately think favorably of them.

"I'm not confrontational." "I'm a perfectionist." Have you ever heard one of these above statements? Life is hard. It can be burdensome, challenging, and parenthood and all that that entails is often "easier said than done." I think we make it harder, though, when we portray to the world that everything is well and good- perfect, even- and we don't allow the light of vulnerability to shine in and make community possible and even reachable. Read the rest at tacywilliamsbeck.com

As the Morning Rising: Music ( Poem) : Music We lift up our hearts. The buried song resounds Once more. From ocean depths To highest heaven There soars In silenc...

Okay! I’ve kept my mouth shut, and stayed out of the fray up to this point. I’ve listened to all of the commentary on television and in social media. I see the deep division of ideological beliefs strangling our nation. With that, I am reminded of the slogan, united we stand; divided we fall . As a nation, we are deeply divided. If we don’t get our act together, and begin to act like grown-ups, we will only see our nation go into further decline. We will fall. Our democracy is in jeopardy. I’ve stayed on the sidelines, and not weighed in, until now, because I lived that life of negativity, speaking truth to my audit clients; telling them what was wrong and needed to be fixed, only to receive a deaf ear. I left auditing and obtained my Masters in Pastoral Theology so that I could inspire people; not tear them down. However, what I see occurring within the Halls of Congress, as well as on television via the pundits, on social media, and in person-to-person discussions regarding ou

It is one of my favorite scenes in Scripture. Thomas, who had not been present when Jesus appeared to the disciples just after His Resurrection, was skeptical. "'I will never believe it,' said he, 'without probing the nailprints in His hands, without putting my finger in the nailmarks and my hand into His side...' What strikes me most about this is Jesus' tender mercy to Thomas. There are no reprimands. Our Lord doesn't say "oh you of little faith, why do you doubt? You've got to exercise faith , Thomas! You can do it! Just make up your mind!" No. Jesus simply offers Thomas the precise help he needs.. ( continue reading.. .)

My father-in-law has been asked if he's conservative — or liberal. His answer: "I'm Catholic." I'd give the same answer. Catholic teachings are quite definite, so it's possible to peg them on the American political spectrum — as long as you don't look at the big picture. Taking bits and pieces of Catholic beliefs, and the history of Catholics in America, I could claim that the Catholic Church is conservative or liberal. That would be as big a mistake as seeing all conservatives as hate-fueled foes of diversity, or all liberals as irresponsible lunatics. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .